New York bans addictive social media feeds for children and teens

Social media is notoriously addictive, especially for younger users like children and teenagers. Although the U.S. government has shown some interest in protecting our youth online, there has not been much progress at the federal level. As a result, several states have stepped up their own laws, with New York being the latest to introduce legislation.

Today, Governor Kathy Hochul signed two new bills. The first, called the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, requires parental consent for “addictive feeds” in apps. Currently, most social media apps automatically suggest content through custom algorithms. Under this new law, minors will only see videos from accounts they follow, unless they have parental permission for automatic suggestions. The law also prohibits platforms from sending notifications about suggested posts to minors between midnight and 6 a.m., unless there is verifiable parental authorization. The next step is to create a system to verify a user’s age and parental consent status. Once the rules are finalized, social media companies will have 180 days to incorporate the new regulations into their apps. Businesses that fail to comply face fines of $5,000 per violation.

The second bill, the New York Child Data Protection Act, limits the data that platforms can collect about minors without consent and restricts the sale of that data. This law is expected to come into force next year.

The laws received a mixed reception, reflecting political division. Although there is bipartisan agreement on the need for better online protection for children, the methods for achieving it differ. This division is why federal proposals like the Child Safety Online Act are at a standstill. Conservatives often oppose proposals requiring age verification that involves real IDs, fearing government tracking and invasions of privacy. Liberals, meanwhile, are widely concerned that such laws would restrict access to important resources for marginalized groups like the LGBTQ+ community, echoing concerns about education laws and book bans in schools. Conservative states.

These new laws will likely face significant challenges. In fact, they already are. Industry association NetChoice sued California over a similar law, the Age-Appropriate Design Code, which was ultimately blocked in court. The judge argued that the law could negatively impact data collection across all ages due to implementation difficulties. NetChoice has previously criticized New York’s SAFE for Kids law as unconstitutional, saying it could “increase children’s exposure to harmful content by requiring websites to order streams in chronological order, prioritizing recent publications on sensitive subjects. It seems a lawsuit is almost inevitable here too.

It’s unclear how these issues will play out in New York courts, but it’s clear that the new laws are going to have a rough ride.